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Sudan opposition leader arrested after calling for Bashir to surrender to ICC

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] Sudanese authorities on Wednesday detained prominent political opposition figure and Islamist leader Hassan al-Turabi in response to al-Turabi's calls for President Omar al-Bashir to turn himself over to the International Criminal Court (ICC). Turabi, the leader of the Popular Congress Party (PCP), was expecting to be detained after telling reporters Monday that Bashir is responsible for war crimes in Darfur. Amnesty International (AI) has condemned Turabi's detention, calling it "arbitrary." ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo applied for an arrest warrant for Bashir in July, charging him with genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. The warrant was condemned by the Arab League and criticized by South African President Thabo Mbeki. In December, ICC judges gave Moreno-Ocampo until January 26 to provide supplemental information about a September 2007 attack on an African Union base in Haskanita. The events at the ICC were preceded by a Security Council statement in June urging Sudan to work with the ICC to "put an end to impunity for the crimes committed in Darfur." Sudan is not a party to the ICC, but must cooperate to fulfill its obligations under Council Resolution 1593, which established jurisdiction over the Darfur situation. Hundreds of thousands of people have allegedly been killed in Darfur by Sudanese military and janjaweed militia forces.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on January 15, 2009 (boomark / email).